UPPSALA, SWEDEN, March 12 — Before a clamorous Swedish home crowd in a meet named for him, Mondo Duplantis vaulted to the fifteenth World Record of his career. In this, his second meet of the as yet young season, the 26-year-old “Louisiana Swede” returned to, and surpassed, his record-breaking form most recently shown at the Tokyo World Championships last September.
With lights flashing on the spectators and music filling the arena space, he sped down the runway, then up and over 20-8½ (6.31) on first try. An absolute WR, it added a centimeter to Duplantis’ mark from Tokyo. He had plenty of height above the bar and tickled it but lightly on his descent. With gold glitter showering him from the rafters, Duplantis jumped up and down on the mat and pumped his fists as competitors rushed in to offer congratulatory embraces.
“I invited all the best jumpers in the world to compete against me on home soil,” he told broadcaster SVT in a trackside interview conducted in Swedish. “So there is a little eof xtra pressure, in a way — because it is everyone here who I want to do the most in front of. So it feels like I want to perform in a different way with this in Sweden. And I could do that. To set a World Record here was absolutely incredible, actually.”
His card showed no misses. With first-attempt makes throughout Duplantis went over 8-6½ (5.65), 19-4¼ (5.90) and 19-11¼ (6.08) before the WR bar. Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen placed 2nd at 19-8¼ (6.00) ahead of a trio at 19-4¼ (5.90): Americans Zach Bradford and Sam Kendricks plus Aussie Kurtis Marschall.
Guttormsen’s 6-meter clearance followed a 19-10½ (6.06) PR 5 days earlier in Rouen, France — the highest-ever non-winning vault. The Princeton alum had placed 2nd to Greek star Manolo Karalís at the same height. Karalís had just a so-so “day at the office” here, clearing 19-¼ (5.80) for 7th.
Next stop, the World Indoor Championships Toruń, where the men’s pole vault is scheduled for March 21.
MONDO CLASSIC RESULTS
1. Mondo Duplantis (Swe) 20-8½ (6.31) WR (old WR 20-6¾/6.27 Duplantis ’25; in/out WR 20-8/6.30 Duplantis ’25) (18-6½, 19-4¼, 19-11¼, 20-8½) (5.65, 5.90, 6.08, 6.31);
2. Sondre Guttormsen (Nor) 19-8¼ (6.00) (18-½, 19-¼, 19-4¼, 19-8¼ [3], 19-11¼ [xxx]) (5.50, 5.80, 5.90, 6.00 [3], 6.08 [xxx]); 3. Zach Bradford (US) 19-4¼ (5.90); 4. Sam Kendricks (US) 19-4¼ (5.90); 5. Kurtis Marschall (Aus) 19-4¼ (5.90); 6. Menno Vloon (Neth) 19-¼ (5.80); 7. Manolo Karalís (Gre) 19-¼ (5.80); 8. Chris Nilsen (US) 19-¼ (5.80); 9. KC Lightfoot (US) 18-6½ (5.65).
